“You heard my mechanical heart.”
He nodded. “It shocked me, and for the first time in my life I felt real curiosity. My programming told me to continue to the lab, but I wanted to follow you. To find out what you were. So, I did. I broke my programming. I felt freedom for the first time in my life. So I followed you into the stadium. But you were suddenly not the only distraction. Suddenly I was aware that there was a life for me beyond the lab. My mind was my own again. When I got close to you I realised that you weren’t one of us, but by then it was too late. I had been discovered.”
We both knew that part of the story of course, so I didn’t need him to remind me.
Silence crept over our little patch of forest. He twisted his hand under mine, looking down at where I still traced patterns on the back of his hand.
“Of course, you are not one of us,” he said slowly. “But you’re not a normal human either. Would you tell me your story?”
I grimaced. “There isn’t much to tell.” I tapped my chest. “My real one started giving out when I just a baby. Weeks old, I think. Mum and Dad saw every doctor they could, every specialist. But they all had the same diagnosis. I was going to die without a new heart. They put me on all the transplant lists, but the chances were always slim. I don’t know the full story of how they came to decide on a Mechanical heart. If they approached Kendall or the other way around. But it’s there, this foreign piece of metal in place of a heart.”
Slowly, resolutely, Daniel turned me to face him. His fingers trembled as he placed them gently over my heart.
He cocked his head slightly and I knew he was listening to it’s strange rhythm. A smile twitched his lips. “Foreign or not, this piece of metal inside you saved my life. It woke me up and set me free. I never dreamed I would ever be free.”
I placed my fingers over his and he lifted his head to look me in the eye.
The air seemed to still between us. My breathing sounded unnaturally loud.
Then I wasn’t breathing at all. His lips were on mine and I was lost. His hand dropped from my heart to my hip, tugging me towards him and I was swallowed up in the feel of his lips on mine, the heat, and the fire.
After a few moments he broke away, our foreheads still touching as he gazed into my eyes. My breathing was embarrassingly frantic.
“Amazing,” he whispered.
I chuckled. “You’re not too bad yourself.”
His lips quirked in a smile, but he shook his head. “I didn’t mean the kiss – not that it wasn’t amazing,” he added when my face fell. “But I didn’t know it was possible for me to feel like this. They took away so much of what made me human, I didn’t know if I could still feel anything – let alone this.”
I wanted to ask him what he did feel. Did he feel something real for me, or was it just curiosity that drove him? But I was afraid to ask, afraid of the answer.
Instead I sighed. “We should get back. I really should finish work on Sarah.”
His face scrunched up for a moment in disappointment and then he drew me in for another deep, bruising kiss. Then the heat of him was gone, leaving me reeling. I only had a second to miss it before he swept me off the log and tugged me after him through the trees. He seemed buoyant, on a natural high that made him more human than ever.
We didn’t speak all the way back, but he kept a tight grip on my hand. He dropped it once we reached the clearing, but I didn’t blame him. Both Robert and Sarah were watching us as we stepped back into the firelight, and Sarah’s expression was anything but friendly.
She rose and stalked across the clearing without a word, but the message was clear as she dropped down beside my tablet. Break time was over.
Thirteen
After the third day I cracked Sarah’s code, finding the programming flaw I was looking for. I could have done it quicker, but she was a different model to Robert and they’d made some changes by the time they made her. Plus, Daniel refused to risk staying in one place for too long. So I could only work on her in the evenings.
She didn’t even give me a chance to hesitate on her reboot once the rewrite was done. Reaching over the top of the screen she hit the key for herself. I didn’t linger over her the way I had with Robert. I felt a little bad about it, but even now she still showed me nothing but animosity.
I couldn’t entirely blame her. She had been like me once. Normal. Human. Had she been a runaway? Did a family somewhere still wonder what had happened to her? That person, whoever she was, had been erased, stripped away. She had been violated in the worst possible way, and somehow, what was worse, she didn’t even remember it.
She blamed humans for what had happened to her, and she didn’t make much of a distinction between the man on the street and the scientists in the labs. The scientists had made the changes, but the rest of us had let it happen.
All that passed through my mind as her body twitched on the ground in front of me. The reboot was faster than Robert’s. She hadn’t been in such bad shape, and it only took a few moments for her to blink and sit up.
Robert stepped immediately to her side as Daniel and I stepped back. It took a moment for all her systems to start functioning fully, but then she raised her head and looked me in the eye.
“I might have been wrong about you. You are rather useful to have around.”
I smiled weakly as she climbed to her feet and stretched, her joints cracking.
“It’s all gone,” She said in wonder. “All their subroutines, all their programs. All gone.”
It wasn’t strictly true, but I didn’t feel like correcting her. All the controlling code was gone, the code that tried to force her to someone else’s will, including the First Law, but the rest was still there. The code that allowed all of her mechanical parts to function. There was simply no way to return her to the way she had once been.
She cracked her knuckles and turned her gaze on Daniel, her lips quirking into as close to a smile as her silicone skin would allow.
“It’s strange, somehow the human’s work has improved my memory.”
Daniel glowered at her. “What do you mean, Sarah? What memory?”
Her expression was coy, or something approximating it.
“The Sanctuary.”
She was so irritatingly smug that I thought about slapping it out of her, but with her superior reflexes she’d have me on my arse in no time. Daniel looked no less frustrated with her cryptic answers, but he managed to keep his voice calm as he prodded her.
“First you said you didn’t know anything about the sanctuary. And then you claimed you’d told us everything you knew. Why do you keep lying?”
She shrugged. “Because I knew you weren’t about to leave this human behind. And I figured she wouldn’t be welcome there. The plan was to convince you to ditch her somewhere along the way before I trusted you.”
I bristled at the casual suggestion that they would have just abandoned me in the woods, but Daniel laid a silencing hand on my arm and I bit back a scathing reply.
“But now?”
Sarah glanced at Daniel and then back at me. “Now she’s not just a human. She’s useful. Something they might be interested in. Robert and I are not the only Mechanicals with failsafes.”
“So, what? Because of that you’re magically going to know where the Sanctuary is?”
Sarah snorted. “I always knew where it was. The only reason we hadn’t gone there ourselves was because of the failsafe. Because we hadn’t broken all our programming.”
I didn’t know if I trusted her. She was self-serving and more than a little manipulative, but I also knew we didn’t have much of a choice. I wasn’t worried for me, but I wanted to get Daniel to safety. The more I found out about him the more aware I was of how badly Kendall and the government must want him. If they could get him back and reprogram him –
I shied away from the thought. I was finally starting to understand what Sarah and Robert meant about death vs freedom.
“So, you can show u
s the way?” I asked quietly.
Sarah shrugged. “I know where to find a map. That will show us the way.”
I didn’t sleep well that night. It wasn’t the stony forest floor. I’d gotten used to sleeping rough. It was the hushed conversations of the three Mechanicals.
It was stupid really. Especially seeing as Sarah’s plan had changed, but I couldn’t help thinking that she still might want to ditch me. And I couldn’t help worrying that their muted conversation, too low for me to hear, was her trying to convince Daniel of the plan.
It also didn’t help that the temperature had dropped throughout the day. Seasons didn’t really mean all that much anymore after all. Even with a fire, burning just feet away, I still found myself shivering.
“Are you all right?”
My eyes popped open. I hadn’t heard the conversation end, or Daniel’s approach, but now he sat on his haunches, leaning over me.
“Sure,” I muttered through chattering teeth, trying to ignore Sarah’s fixed gaze from across the fire.
Daniel snorted. “You’re freezing. Do you want me to build up the fire?”
I shook my head quickly. Sarah had already made me feel guilty enough about the fire, pointing out that it made us far more conspicuous in the otherwise deserted forest. I didn’t want to give her another chance to berate me.
“It’s too dangerous,” I muttered quickly when Daniel started to frown.
He hesitated, clearly torn on what to do next, and then he rose and stepped over me. For a moment I was confused and then I felt the warmth settling along my back.
He slipped one arm around my waist, pulling me into him, and slid the other under my head to create a kind of pillow. He was so warm. Warmer than I would have expected. And his body seemed to curve to fit mine perfectly.
His warmth was soothing, comforting, and I found myself slipping towards sleep almost too quickly. It was irrational, but I suddenly didn’t want to go to sleep.
His lips brushed against my cheek and neck. “Sleep, Ellie, I’ll be here when you wake, I promise.”
Almost as though my body was obeying him, I relaxed. Sleep came quickly after that.
My first thought when I stirred the next morning was that he’d lied. I rolled over to find cold, empty ground behind me. The sleepy fog cleared from my mind instantly and I moved from lying to sitting almost as fast as a Mechanical.
My head snapped up at the soft chuckle from across the fire.
Daniel crouched there, heating up what was left of the rabbit he’d caught for me the night before.
“Do you really have that little faith in me?”
I brushed my hair back from my face, grimacing at the rat’s nest at the back of my neck. “I didn’t –“
Two of his long strides brought him across the clearing. He held out the rabbit and I took it gratefully. He dropped to sit cross legged with breath taking ease.
He kept his eyes fixed on me as I bit into the slightly overcooked meat.
“Does it taste good?” He asked finally, his gaze shifting to the meat in my hand.
“You’ve never tried real food?”
His hand dipped into his pocket and he pulled out a foil wrapped packet. It looked like a packet of pills. Just like the ones I took to keep my blood thinner, to allow it to move easier through my heart. They were grey and powdery looking.
“What are they?”
“My food. Luckily Robert and Sarah had a stash with them. They stole them when they escaped. I’ve never tried human food. I don’t know if my system could process it. I don’t know what parts of my digestive system they left intact, if any of it. These provide everything my body needs. Even if they aren’t particularly appetizing.”
He let me take the pills out of his hand, and I replaced them with the haunch of rabbit.
“Do you think one bite would hurt you?”
He hesitated for just a second before lifting the rabbit. His expression was almost comical as he sniffed at it, but I resisted the urge to laugh. He sniffed again and then took a tiny, tentative bite.
I watched his face carefully, laughing when he shoved the rabbit back at me.
“Nope. It smells good, but it’s just – odd. It’s so – chewy.”
“You’re just not used to it. You might find you grow to like it.”
He took the pills back out of my hand. “I think I’ll stick to these for now.”
I smirked. “Not very adventurous, are you?”
He purposefully ignored that and rolled onto his feet, reaching back down to pull me up after him.
“Sarah told me a little more about the Sanctuary, and how to find their maps. I don’t think it will take us too long.”
I chose not to remind him how much I was going to slow them down. I simply couldn’t move as quickly as they could, and I had to take far more breaks. They could run for days with no rest if they needed to.
In the time Daniel and I had been talking Sarah and Robert had kicked over the fire and scuffed the earth around it. Trying to cover up any signs of us being there. They saw us rise and made for the tree line. Sarah tapped her foot impatiently until Daniel and I joined them.
She shot me the dirtiest look she could manage, and then turned to Daniel.
“We need to head north.”
Without another word they plunged into the trees.
Fourteen
The journey northward took longer than expected. But not for the reason I expected. I managed to keep pace with the Mechanicals for the most part, though I knew they were holding back. The real delays were the constant detours.
The country was so heavily populated, even after all the troubles, that even in the deepest parts of the countryside there were still towns and cities.
The Mechanicals were hesitant to step foot into any populated area, and I didn’t blame them. Daniel might have been able to escape notice for a little while, but Sarah and Robert stood no chance. Their silicone skin alone was blindingly obvious.
So instead of taking the most direct route we stuck to the countryside as much as we could. Even when we found ourselves surrounded by towns.
The weather began to change. No more sudden snow storms, but instead the cold settled in for the long haul. It crept closer to freezing every day, and at night it dropped painfully low.
Daniel sleeping with me each night became routine. As I settled down to sleep he would lay behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me in close against his chest.
We both ignored Sarah’s snide comments and vicious glares. She couldn’t understand how Daniel could stand being so close to me, and he didn’t seem too eager to explain it to her. Her prejudices against humans definitely didn’t show any signs of disappearing.
But even Daniel’s extra body heat wasn’t going to be enough for much longer. The further north we travelled the colder it got, and the more I needed to do something about it.
When our route finally crossed a road into a nearby town I hesitated long enough that the three Mechanicals were two hundred yards ahead of me before Daniel realised I wasn’t with them.
He stopped and retraced his steps. He glanced only briefly at the signpost.
“What is it? We can’t rest so close to a road.”
“I want to go into the town.”
“Totally out of the question,” Sarah snapped, her hearing good enough to catch my murmured reply.
Daniel silenced her with a quick gesture and kept his gaze fixed on me.
“Going into populated places isn’t safe. You know that.”
“I know.” I glanced down the side road and then back at Daniel. “But it’s so cold. And it’s only going to get colder as we go north.”
“I can keep you warm.”
I smiled. “Not all the time. And I’m not sure even that will be enough before long. I need better clothes. Warmer clothes.” I glanced at Sarah and Robert. They still stood two hundred yards away. “I’ll go alone. I don’t want to put any of you in any danger.�
�
“Not a chance.” Daniel turned to Sarah and Robert, not giving me chance to argue. “You two wait for us here. We’ll be as fast as we can.”
“You’re putting a lot of faith in me,” Sarah replied, moving closer to us. “We don’t have to wait for you. We could go on without you.”
“But you won’t.” Daniel sounded fairly certain.
“No, we won’t.” It was Robert who spoke, not Sarah. He normally seemed content to let her do most of the talking, but this time he was taking charge.
“We owe Ellie,” He continued. “We will not abandon her. Or you, Daniel. But we can’t help you either. We will wait here for three hours. If you are not back by then, we will go to the Sanctuary without you. Does that seem fair?”
“More than fair,” I said before Daniel could reply. I still didn’t really want him coming with me, but I also knew he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “I just need to find a store.” I didn’t think to mention that it was easier said than done. Most of the shops in the cities and towns had closed down. Forced out of business. Apart from the wealthiest most people got their clothes from the government supply stores. It was the lowest quality stuff, but it was free. Unfortunately, you also had to show I.D to get it.
I couldn’t exactly walk into a government store and show my I.D. The moment I did my parents would be alerted.
I did have a little money on me. Not much. I’d never needed much, and Mum and Dad were always ready to hand out more if I needed it. As little as it was, it should have been enough to buy a warmer coat, and maybe a thicker pair of socks. If only I could find a still open store. It would mean venturing into a part of town where our dirty, travel worn clothes would draw more attention than I could afford. I’d have to think of something.
Robert and Sarah watched us for a while and then faded back into the trees.
Metal in the Blood (The Mechanicals Book 1) Page 12